


you square all the corners, i straighten the curves

by rosesandspades713



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Fluff and Crack, M/M, have i mentioned i Love Lucretia, this was supposed to be a shitpost but then feelings happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 18:51:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12064956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosesandspades713/pseuds/rosesandspades713
Summary: Lup doesn't want to make the first move.Taako's afraid of getting hurt.Lucretia just wants this damn play to be somewhat watchable.





	you square all the corners, i straighten the curves

**Author's Note:**

> hey what's up it's me back with another taz fic
> 
> i've been working on this for like a month and a half and i Finally Finished It.
> 
> anyway i'm actually pretty proud of this one so please enjoy.
> 
> fic title is from "Perfect For You" from the musical Next to Normal.

It’s ten days to opening night, and Lucretia is going to lose her mind. 

It shouldn’t be that hard for everyone to pull the production together when they’ve been working toward it all term. It really shouldn’t be! But Taako’s been calling for his lines much more often than usual lately, Lup’s missed her cues multiple times, and a bunch of others keep missing their entrances. There’s been some trouble with the stage crew, too. Barry keeps forgetting to turn on the spotlight until midway through a song, and Kravitz had been misplacing props. 

They’re all her friends, and she loves them, but if they mess up Lucretia’s first time directing a play, she’s going to be upset. 

“Alright, we’ll take it from the top of Act 1 after a ten minute break. That’s ten, everyone.”

“Thank you, ten,” the cast and crew shout back. At least they can do one thing right. 

Lucretia retreats backstage to check over a few things, and she sees Magnus—set designer/builder—and Merle—choreographer—laughing in a corner. Magnus catches her eye and beckons her over. 

“Hey Lucretia, Merle and I have a bet going, and we were wondering if you wanted in?”

She cocks an eyebrow. “What’s the bet?”

Magnus points his thumb across to the other side of the stage. “Look.”

She does. “I fail to see what’s so interesting about Taako and Kravitz talking.”

“They only started talking a few weeks ago,” Merle says in a conspiratorial whisper. “Around the same time Taako started to forget his lines.”

“And Kravitz started losing props,” Magnus jumps in. “Now, it could be a coincidence, but Taako’s my best friend-”

Merle coughs. 

“ _ One of  _ my best friends,” Magnus corrects, “and he is literally  _ never  _ off his game.”

Lucretia knows this. She’s seen Taako get tests or essays back, full of red marks, and not even blink. Once, when they were freshmen, some asshole made some awful comment about Lup, and Taako kept his cool. Completely eviscerated him of course, but kept his cool while doing so. And now? Taako looks  _ nervous.  _ He’s talking to Kravitz and fidgeting with his hands. He never fidgets. 

What Magnus and Merle have been hinting at comes to her in a second. “You think Taako has a  _ crush _ ?”

Merle smiles. “Not just think. We  _ know. _ We  _ also _ know that Kravitz has got it bad too. Everyone but Taako knows that. Now, here’s where the bet comes in.”

“Merle says they’ll get together before graduation, and I say they get together before spring break. What do you say?”

Normally, Lucretia wouldn’t participate in something like this. There’s something that just feels wrong about betting on the status of a friend’s relationship. But on the other hand, if this is what’s giving them trouble with the play, it’s her duty as director to try and fix it, right? Besides, if this would make Taako happy, what harm is there in it?

“I bet they’ll get together by opening night.”

Magnus snorts, and Merle lets out a low whistle. “I dunno, Lucretia,” he says while Magnus attempts to stop himself from laughing. “That’s giving them a lot of credit.”

“I think it’s giving them exactly the right amount of credit,” she protests. “You underestimate them.”

They look at each other, shrug, and reach for fist bumps. 

“It’s a bet,” Magnus says. 

“It’s a bet,” she replies. 

As everyone gets to their places for Act 1, Lucretia experiences a moment of self doubt. How is she going to be able to get her show together  _ and  _ meddle in her friend’s relationship in just ten days?

* * *

 

“Hey Lucretia, you got a second?”

Lucretia looks up from the correction notes she took from today’s full run of the play—fewer than yesterday, but still too many—to see Lup standing in front of her. She sets the notes down on the chair next to her and stands up. “Yeah, what’s up?”

Lup laughs nervously and runs a hand through her hair. “I, uh, I wanted to apologize for messing up so much lately? And also ask for some advice?”

“Well, I accept the apology,” Lucretia says. “As long as you promise to work harder before the show opens.”

“And I will!” Lup says. “I promise, Luc. This is your show, and I know how much it means to you. The drama department won’t know what hit ‘em opening night.”

Lucretia smiles. No matter what, Lup always manages to cheer her up. She’s just got an energy about her that makes people happy. It’s a big part of the reason Lucretia cast her as the lead in her play. “So what can I help you with, Lup?”

She looks down at her fingers and starts fidgeting with them. It’s strikingly similar to how Taako was acting while he was talking to Kravitz earlier. “It’s kind of related to why I’ve been fucking up lately, ha ha. I, uh, well. I kind of have a crush.”

Lucretia’s eyes go wide. “You too?”

Lup cocks her head. “What do you mean, ‘you too’?” Then she blinks. “Wait, did Taako tell you about his crush on Kravitz? Because he told me no one could find out about it and swore me to secrecy, the hypocrite.”

“No, uh, Magnus and Merle told me. And I don’t think Taako told them?”

Lup looks like she’s thinking for a second, and then laughs. “Figures. He’s so obvious about it, I’m surprised Kravitz doesn’t know. But anyway. Back to my problem. My crush.”

“Right,” Lucretia says. “Uh, what kind of advice do you want? Because I’m not really the best at romantic advice, and I’ve never been in a relationship before, so I’m not really sure why you came to me?”

Lup takes a seat on the stage and pats the spot next to her. Lucretia takes the hint and sits down next to her. “I just need an outside perspective. Just so I know I’m not overthinking things. Because”—she lies back onto the stage—”I’ve got it bad, my dude.”

“Can I ask who for?”

She glances up at Lucretia. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“Cross my heart.”

Lup sighs, looking up at the catwalk above the stage. “It’s Barry.”

Lucretia should have seen that coming. Lup and Barry have been very close friends since before Lucretia knew either of them, and there always seemed to be a hint of something else to their relationship. She actually thought they were dating when Lup first introduced her to Barry, which led to some awkward laughter and a shared gaze that went on a little too long. It’s been years since then, and as she takes a second to think about it, she realizes that Lup and Barry have probably been crushing on each other this entire time, too scared to say anything to each other.

“I should have guessed,” Lucretia says after a second. 

Lup grimaces “Is it that obvious?”

“Kind of. But who else could it be, if not him?”

She shrugs. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. I think I’ve liked him for a really long time.”

Lucretia lies back next to Lup. “So why haven’t you said anything to him? It doesn’t really seem like you, you know?”

“I do know,” she says. “I guess I’m just scared, Lucretia. What if he doesn’t feel the same way about me? What if I say something and it screws up our friendship forever?”

“I don’t think that’ll happen, Lup.”

Lup looks over at her, biting her lip. “What if it does? What should I do?”

“The way I see it, you have two choices in front of you. One: you never say anything. You and Barry stay friends and never become anything more. Two: you tell him how you feel, honestly tell him, and then you go from there. Either he likes you back and everything’s wonderful, or he doesn’t, but at least you’ll  _ know _ . And Lup?”

“Yeah?”

“There is no way Barry doesn’t like you.”

She grins. “You really think so?”

“I do.”

Lucretia sits up, and is suddenly blindsided by Lup knocking her over in a hug, causing them both to fall back onto the stage again. 

“Lucretia, you are honestly the best,” she says. “I hope you know that.”

* * *

 

Two days later, Lup and Barry have the best rehearsal of their lives. 

Lucretia isn’t sure what happened between the two of them, but they’re ridiculously happy today. And it really shines through in their work. Lup performs perfectly, her energy electrifying the room. Barry, meanwhile, is a master with the light board, hitting every light cue for the first time since they started doing full runs. 

It’s almost enough to offset the fact that both Taako and Kravitz are still having problems.

When Lucretia gives notes at the end of the run-through, she heaps praise on Lup and Barry and a few others who have really pulled it together, while not-so-gently reminding everyone else that hey, the show opens in just over a week. And that she’d really, really like for it to go well.

After she dismisses everyone, she sees Lup standing backstage, waving her over. Quickly, Lucretia walks over to her. 

“Barry and I are going on a date tonight!” she cries, grinning ear to ear. 

“That’s wonderful, Lup!” Lucretia says. “So you talked to him?”

She shakes her head. “He beat me to it! We were eating dinner after rehearsal, just the two of us, right?”

Lucretia nods.

“Well, he said he wanted to show me something, so we walked out into the middle of the soccer field out by Evans Hall and just laid down and looked at the stars. They were  _ beautiful. _ ”

Lucretia smiles. “Then what happened?”

Lup blushes. It’s not something Lucretia has seen very often. “We just laid there for a while at first. Not really talking, just looking, you know? And then I saw a shooting star, so I turned over to tell him to make a wish but he was  _ right there _ , like two inches from my face. And then he just said, casual as hell, ‘Lup, will you go out with me?’”

“You’re sure we’re talking about the same Barry?”

Lup laughs. “I know! I never would have seen it coming! I  _ didn’t  _ see it coming! He was so chill! And then I immediately said yes, because of  _ course. _ And then, well…”

Lucretia cuts in. “Please spare me the details.”

Lup just laughs and lightly shoves her. “Mind outta the gutter, Lucretia! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got a hot date to get to!”

She dashes away grinning, and Lucretia can’t help but smile as well. 

“Hey, Madame Director!” a voice calls from behind her. She turns around to see Magnus, and she rolls her eyes. 

“ _ Don’t  _ call me ‘Madame Director,’ it sounds ridiculous.”

Magnus just grins. “Davenport and Merle are hosting a party in their room on Saturday. ‘S for the cast and crew. You coming?”

She raises an eyebrow. “The play hasn’t even opened yet.”

“I know, I know!” Magnus says. “But we’re gonna run for a couple of weeks, which means the next two Saturdays are gonna be taken up by that. And then after that it’s finals! The  _ responsible  _ thing is to have the big party  _ this  _ weekend.”

“Because you’re the definition of responsible?”

Magnus pretends to be offended. “I  _ am  _ responsible! Have you met my goldfish Steven? He can vouch for me!”

Lucretia rolls her eyes. “Alright, alright. I’ll be there. If only to keep the rest of you from going completely insane.”

Magnus holds out his hand for a high-five. She obliges. “This’ll be  _ awesome _ , Lucretia. The best party ever.”

Somehow, that doesn’t sound very reassuring.

* * *

 

If there’s one thing Merle Highchurch knows how to do, it’s throw a party. He and Davenport’s large double is stuffed with people, and the only reason Lucretia hasn’t ducked out yet is because she knows everyone here. 

Merle and Davenport’s room has a balcony that looks out onto the lakes on the campus, and that’s where Lucretia is now. She’s been sitting here for the better part of two hours, and it’s actually a pretty solid arrangement. Only about four people can fit on the balcony at a time, so she’s not feeling crowded, and the people on the balcony keep rotating in and out, so she’s been able to talk to just about everyone. She even got Avi to refill her drink (cabernet—Merle knows what she likes) so she wouldn’t have to go back inside. 

“Lucretia! When did you get here?”

She turns around to see the door to the room sliding shut, Taako now on the balcony with her. He’s clutching a cup, and moving in such a way that Lucretia’s pretty sure it’s not his first one. 

“Oh, I’ve been here for a while, I’ve just been sitting out here.”

“Cool.” Taako plops down into the chair next to her and leans back, crossing his legs. “It’s a fuckin’ riot in there, so Taako’s good out here.”

Lucretia cracks a smile. “So, uh, how’s everything going with you, Taako?”

He takes a swig of his drink and sets it down on the floor. “Y’know, if I’m being honest, not that great?”

Lucretia’s stomach drops. “Oh, I’m, uh, I’m really sorry to hear that, Taako, is there-”

“God, first I’ve been fucking up real bad at rehearsals—sorry about that—and then Lup gets a fuckin’ boyfriend.”

“You-you don’t like Barry?”

Taako vehemently shakes his head. “Nah, nah. Barry’s fantastic. I’m psyched as fuck about him and Lup.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“...It’s stupid.”

Lucretia frowns. “Taako, whatever it is, it isn’t stupid.”

“It  _ is _ , though. Lup won’t stop smiling all the time and she hasn’t stopped talking about Barry since they got together and I’m  _ so happy  _ for her, I really am, it’s just…”

“You’re jealous,” Lucretia finishes. 

Taako sighs. “I’m jealous. But there’s no fuckin’ point to being jealous because what kind of chances do I have of dating anybody?”

Lucretia blames the wine for what she's about to say next. “Not even Kravitz?”

Taako stares daggers at her, and then inside the room. “I’m gonna kill Lup, she wasn’t supposed to say anything.”

“She  _ didn’t  _ say anything, Taako. I figured it out on my own.” A lie, but the alternative would be forcing Merle and Magnus to deal with an angry Taako, and no one wants that. 

Taako, meanwhile, deflates. “I’m so fucking obvious.” He picks his drink up and tips it back, finishing it off. “I hate it so much.”

“What?”

“These fucking goddamn stupid _butterflies_ in my _stomach._ I haven’t felt this way since, since fuckin’...” He trails off before he finishes the sentence, and crushes his cup before chucking it over the balcony.

“Hey, no littering!” comes a voice from below. 

Taako holds up his middle finger and turns back to Lucretia. “I don’t  _ do  _ crushes, you know? Like, miss me with that feelings shit. But when Kravitz is around, I’m a fucking  _ wreck.  _ I can’t think straight. It’s terrifying. Doesn’t help that a snowball’s chance in hell is better than the chances of us getting together.”

Lucretia purses her lips. “Why do you think that?”

He just looks at her, dejected. “Why  _ wouldn’t  _ I think that? I mean, look at me! I’m loud, obnoxious, mean, stupid as fuck—”

“Taako, stop.” Lucretia is standing up now, taking Taako’s hands in hers. “Stop it.”

He jerks his hands out of hers. “Stop what? Telling the truth? Come on, admit it. You’ve been pissed at me all week ‘cause I keep fucking up at rehearsals. Because I’m a self-absorbed asshole.”

“You’re also hard-working, hilarious, a fantastic cook, and a genius when it comes to so many things.” Lucretia moves her chair so she can sit down right in front of Taako and take his hands again. “You’re selling yourself short. You always do. You truly are a wonderful person, Taako, and I’m so proud to call myself your friend. Kravitz would be lucky to have someone like you.”

Taako is still for a second, and she’s worried he’s going to pull away again. Or worse, storm off and get another drink. He’s still for another second, and then all of a sudden Lucretia is wrapped in a bone-crushing hug.

“What did we ever do to deserve you?” he says. He pulls back and smiles at her. A real smile, not the smirk he usually wears. “You’re the fuckin’ best, Lucretia. I promise, I’m gonna work my ass off next week. Opening night is gonna fuckin’  _ rule. _ ”

She smiles. “I have complete faith in you, Taako. I always do.”

* * *

 

Monday afternoon, there’s a full run of the show with all the costumes and all the props. Act 1 passes without too much issue. A couple of lines were flubbed, but Lucretia expected nothing less. This is why it’s so important to do as many full runs as possible before opening night. To get the mistakes out of the way. 

She gives everyone a twenty minute break to simulate the show’s intermission, and heads backstage to grab some snacks to get her through Act 2. She grabs a granola bar and a couple oranges, and then turns to head back to her seat, running straight into Taako on her way. 

“Shit! Sorry, Lucretia!” he says, while still trying to push past her. She looks behind him to see Kravitz not too far behind. Oh. 

She looks at Taako and narrows her eyes, but he just shrugs and pushes through, quickly disappearing. She lets out a sigh and turns to walk away, not getting very far before she’s stopped by none other than Kravitz.

“Hey Lucretia? Can I ask you something?” he asks, voice uncertain. Lucretia doesn’t know Kravitz very well; he’s in one of her classes this term and expressed interest in helping out with the play. She hasn’t really talked to him that much while working on the play either, to be honest. Still, she’s pretty sure she knows what this is about. 

“Sure, what’s up?”

Kravitz hesitates for a moment before he starts talking. “You’re...pretty close to Taako, right?”

Nailed it. “Well, we’re not the best of friends by any means, but we’re pretty close, yes.”

He nods. “I, uh, well, I thought we were becoming closer, a-as friends, but all of a sudden he started avoiding me, and I just want to know if I did something wrong.”

Lucretia smiles sadly. “I doubt you did anything wrong, Kravitz. Taako is just like that sometimes, especially when he’s getting close to someone. You didn’t know him then, but when we first met, he was dating a guy who wasn’t good for him. And he came out of that relationship hurt and unconfident.”

Kravitz looks shocked. “Unconfident?”

Lucretia almost laughs. “It seems surprising, I know. Nobody would ever peg Taako as unconfident. And in most ways, he isn’t. But when he gets close to somebody, like he did with Sazed, he always starts to close himself off, because he’s afraid of messing up and getting hurt. 

“I think, Kravitz, if you want to get closer to Taako, you have to keep trying. You have to make him see that you wouldn’t hurt him, or let him hurt himself.”

He furrows his brow but then nods, and strides off, presumably in search of Taako. Or at least, Lucretia hopes so. She cares about the wellbeing of her friends above all else, but part of her still wants to win that bet with Merle and Magnus. And she’s only got four more days.

* * *

 

Lucretia doesn’t have any classes on Thursdays, so she spends the time before rehearsal on a walk around campus. She tries her best to take her time and go slowly, but it’s still sooner rather than later that she finds herself heading into the theater. It’s been like a second home to her all term; she just feels comfortable there. 

Most academic buildings on campus are open to students all of the time, so she doesn’t think anything of it when she sees one of the doors to a practice room cracked open and light shining from inside. Someone must be practicing their instrument before a lesson, or something like that. 

All certainty about that statement vanishes, though, when she hears a very familiar high-pitched giggle. Then almost immediately, a hurried “hush”. 

“Aw come on, Krav!” Taako sounds almost giddy. “Rehearsal doesn’t start for like three hours! Nobody else is here!”

Part of Lucretia wants to say that yes, there is someone here, the director, hi, hello, but a bigger part of her is holding in some giggles herself, as she realizes what must be going on here. Then, a few seconds later, a piano refrain begins. 

It’s incredible. Lucretia had no idea Kravitz could even play piano, let alone this well. She thinks, a little regretfully, that he would have been a perfect piano player for the pit orchestra. But she doesn’t have too much time to dwell on that before her phone goes off, advertising a call from Magnus. 

She silences the call immediately, but the damage is already done. The piano sounds abruptly stop, and Lucretia barely has enough time to hide inside another dark practice room before both Taako and Kravitz step out of theirs, looking wary and confused. 

“I don’t...see anybody,” Taako says, looking around before looking back at Kravitz. “Ha, do you think it’s ghosts? ‘Cause that would be dope as  _ hell.” _

Kravitz, meanwhile, looks a little more nervous. “You know, we’re here pretty early Taako, maybe we should leave?”

Taako visibly shakes his head and grabs Kravitz’ hand. “Nuh-uh. We’re going ghost hunting, babe.”

Everything goes still then, and Lucretia holds her breath so as not to disturb the moment. Taako and Kravitz look at each other, and then at their hands, and then back at each other. Lucretia can’t see Kravitz’ face, but Taako’s is unreadable. 

“Did you just...call me babe?”

More silence. They still haven’t let go of each other’s hands. Taako opens his mouth, and then closes it, and just nods, not moving his gaze. 

In the next second, many things happen.

First, Kravitz takes Taako’s other hand. Then Taako  _ smiles.  _ A wide, unrestrained, beautiful smile. Lucretia sees him squeeze Kravitz’ hands and  _ pull _ , and the next thing she knows, they’re making out right outside the door she’s hiding behind. 

Smiling in spite of her situation, she dives into the corner, further hiding herself. Then she pulls out her phone. As she suspected, Magnus has texted her a few times since he called. 

**heyyyyyyyy lucretia**

**lucretiaaaaaaaaa**

**dont ignore me**

**im sad now**

She rolls her eyes and texts him back, unable to keep the grin off her face. 

**I won the bet.**

He answers in record time. 

**no you didnt. wheres the proof**

Her fingers fly as the door creaks open another inch. 

**The proof is currently making out outside of the practice rooms.**

She doesn’t receive a response, but she doesn’t need one. Less than two minutes later, the front doors of the building burst open and she hears Magnus yell, “About damn time!”

The ensuing chaos is more than enough to allow Lucretia to sneak away from the area undetected.

* * *

 

Opening night goes off without a hitch.

Lucretia spends the entire show pacing between backstage and the upper balcony, but from wherever she’s standing, the show’s a hit.

After the curtain call, she steps out on stage to enormous applause. The lights over the audience have been turned on, which means Lucretia can see every individual person in the audience, and they’re all standing, giving her a standing ovation. She has to fight hard to keep tears of joy from falling. 

Later, over a plate of cookies Taako and Lup baked, she does cry, and when her friends ask her if she’s okay, she just nods and wipes the tears away. 

“I just...I couldn’t ask for a better cast and crew. You guys are fantastic.”

Lup smiles. “Well Lucretia, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we couldn’t ask for a better director.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> please please let me know if you liked this! i've never written from Lucretia's perspective before, and i hope i did okay!
> 
> also! i'm thinking of writing more stuff in this AU so like, let me know if that's a thing i should do? i've thought way more about it than this one-shot would imply.
> 
> have a good day/evening/night!


End file.
